Starting Over
by Broadwaylover5300
Summary: Amber deals with an event that shakes her life to its very roots.


**This is what I hope is an interesting little thing that I'm going to write, it deals with something that I'm surprised hasn't been dealt with yet in the Hairspray ****fanfics**** (at least not that I've seen), I mean, the ****three**** events I'm going to write about did a lot to define the '60s.**

**I'm not sure how long any of these ****three**** chapters (yes, I already know how many chapters it's going to be) are going to be, some may be short, some may be long. I just don't know.**

**Please read and review! Tell me what you think!**

It was late in the summer of 1962.

Amber had lost the Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant. Velma had gone off on her for a while, but she had cooled off considerably (or as considerably as could be expected). Amber had learned to deal with the loss, and, if she was being honest, having the show integrated wasn't too bad at all. Life had been shaken up during the past few months, and the dust was just starting to settle. Amber should have known that something like this was bound to happen.

Amber was in her room, listening to her radio, when she heard it. The Beach Boys were singing "Surfin' Safari" when they were cut off by a newscaster.

"This is breaking news from Los Angeles, California. We have just received a report that Marilyn Monroe was found dead this morning in the bedroom of her home. Cause of death has not been verified yet, but it is assumed that it was a suicide, brought on by an overdose of several different sorts of prescription drugs. We will keep you updated as more information comes in. Now, back to our regularly scheduled program-"

Amber clicked off the radio and walked over to her small dressing table that sat in the corner of her room. She sat down in the small chair and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

It was an odd sensation. It felt as if Amber was walking in a dream world, as if nothing around her was real. The world seemed to spin around her. Suddenly, Amber shook her head, bringing herself abruptly back to the real world. This was happening.

Amber knew that it was ridiculous, acting this way over somebody that she had never met or probably would never meet, but Monroe was one of her idols. Monroe represented something that Amber could become if she worked hard enough, a peak for Amber to try to reach, a symbol of all that Amber's life could be if she played her cards right. Now she was gone, and all of Amber's hopes, all of her dreams, seemed as if they had been taken away, as if they were cords that had been holding her safely that had been cut loose, sending her into the dark, lonely world that awaited her below.

It was proof that money and looks did not buy happiness. What her mother had always taught her had been wiped away in an instant by one event, something that left Amber, always so confident and sure of where she was going and what she was doing, all alone, unsure of anything, the equivalent of a young child, completely unsure of the world and what it held for her.

Suddenly, a knock came at her bedroom door.

"Amber?" a familiar voice, a voice that Amber had not expected to hear, came from the other side of the door.

Amber got up and opened the door. "Corny? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I just heard about Marilyn on the radio, and I knew that you sort of looked up to her. I knew that you would probably be taking this pretty hard, so I came over to see if there was anything that I could do."

Amber shook her head. There was nothing that Corny could do about the way she felt.

"Do you want to talk for a little while?" Corny asked in a soothing voice.

Amber thought for a second, then nodded. Maybe talking would help, at least she could get some feelings out.

She and Corny sat down on her bed, and Amber let it all go. All the feelings, all the tears, everything came pouring out of her very quickly. She just let it all come out, and she was grateful that Corny didn't try to stop her, he just sat there patiently, taking in all that Amber let out.

After Amber had finished, Corny just sat there for a second before saying, "Well, there's only one thing to do now."

"What's that?" Amber asked, blotting tears away from her eyes.

"You've got to start over. Get up off the ground. Get up every morning. Keep breathing, keep living. Keep working at what's important to you."

Amber shook her head. "I'm not ready-"

"If you don't do it now, you'll never do it," Corny said softly. "You must do it now, not waste any more time."

Amber thought about Corny's words for a while. Although she didn't want to admit it, she knew that he was right. She knew that what he was telling her was right, she was just afraid of doing it.

"I'll be here to help you. Whatever you need, I'll be here. I know it's going to be hard, but I'm sure that you can do it," Corny said, smiling.

Amber slowly let a smile spread across her face as well. She knew that Corny was telling the truth, that he would always be there, and that gave her courage. It was time for her to start over, start living again, and she was ready to start.


End file.
